Ripped Off..

finch

finch

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so i wanted to transplant a 320i (4cyl) from e21 into my e30.. after some searching for a while i found one.. $450.. i went to look at it and it looked beautifal.. the head was.. well it looked brand new, and the guy claimed that he had rebuilt it for his friend who had since moved away and nolonger wanted the engine.. me not knowing alot about engines.. what to ask.. or what to look for.. just bought it.. he said it had new pistons rings clutch.. bla bla..
anyway.. i took it down to my BMW mechanic (indipendant) and got him to pull it apart check it out.. i was wanting some work done to the head and a few other little things.. he pulled the head cover off and it all looked great.. pulled the sump off.... well first thing he noticed was all these tiny little shiny copper(i think it was copper.?) at the bottom of the sump.. he proceded to pull the bearing covers off (im typing this from memory.. so exuse the lack of knowlege on my part..) and the first two were new.. all good so far.. then on the third one.. the bearing was blue..
turns out the bearing was screwed and over used and heated and had completly worn out.. it had scratches and dints (where bits of metal had been caught in it and it had scraped.. and he'd just put a differant older ring(?) on there so it would turn.. and it kept driving and bent the crank.. [confused] now the crank doesnt turn at all.. so im up for a nother bottom end.. but the head im keeping.. if i deside to go ahead with this transpalnt.. if not ill go the [pray] m/s50
 
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SpeedPhreak

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that sux, sorry to hear that. does australia have any type of law on that? or small claims court? i would take it back to the guy & get my money back.. or some of it & get to keep the motor.
 
finch

finch

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im not too sure about any of that, but the recipt says "sold as is" so i dont think that there is much that i can do about it..

except i know where he lives [}:)] .....................
 
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SpeedPhreak

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sold as is but he gave false information... if u bought it & he gave honest info then you would b screwed. i would check into legal recourse if i were u... but i would talk w/him 1st, nicely & try to get him to give some money back.

or u could just blow up his car.
 
finch

finch

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SpeedPhreak said:
or u could just blow up his car.
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yeah.. i like where this is going.. keep the ideas coming.. lol

ill give him a call sometime.. im just so busy atm..

dunno how much ill have to fork out.. but the mechanic said the head is worth over $300 so yeah..
 
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bichmgnt

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The head is worth over three hundred if you wanted to buy a rebuilt head but you (supposedly) bought a rebuilt engine. Unless you can find a really cheap engine without a head it doesn't really do you much good. The fact that he sold it 'as is' is worthless when he told you it was a rebuilt engine. I would try to return the engine and get all the money back. If he doesn't want to do that threaten to take him to small claims court (do they have those in Australia?) for the $450 plus all your expenses, including court costs. Do it in a letter and make it all very business-like detailing what you went through, what your expenses were and why you think you have a legal case. You might be able to make a case for fraud but make sure you can back up every word of it. Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and any other correspondence related to the engine. Give him a reasonable deadline to make good on the engine. Then follow through if there is no response.

If you have a friend who is a legal assistant or, better yet, a lawyer, have a talk with them and let them proofread the letter beforehand. Most people will want to stay out of court and a good letter can sometimes make a world of difference.

Good luck.

Steve
 
finch

finch

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bichmgnt said:
The head is worth over three hundred if you wanted to buy a rebuilt head but you (supposedly) bought a rebuilt engine. Unless you can find a really cheap engine without a head it doesn't really do you much good. The fact that he sold it 'as is' is worthless when he told you it was a rebuilt engine. I would try to return the engine and get all the money back. If he doesn't want to do that threaten to take him to small claims court (do they have those in Australia?) for the $450 plus all your expenses, including court costs. Do it in a letter and make it all very business-like detailing what you went through, what your expenses were and why you think you have a legal case. You might be able to make a case for fraud but make sure you can back up every word of it. Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and any other correspondence related to the engine. Give him a reasonable deadline to make good on the engine. Then follow through if there is no response.

If you have a friend who is a legal assistant or, better yet, a lawyer, have a talk with them and let them proofread the letter beforehand. Most people will want to stay out of court and a good letter can sometimes make a world of difference.

Good luck.

Steve
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Thanks for the advice.. Wwould it be better to call him first and try and come to some agreement with him, then send him a letter if it comes to that?

lol.. I would really just rather egg his house, or car, or blow up his letterbox.. thats really imature i know.. [shake]

I'll call him.. thanks guys
 
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bichmgnt

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Yes, definitely call him first and give him a chance to make it right. If he doesn't want to then follow up with a letter. Never let him see you angry, only business-like. It's not personal, it's just business. You get the idea. Good luck and let us know how it works out.

Steve
 
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Ben

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damn that sucks dude. first thing to do when you look at an engine is turn the crank. if it doesnt turn, step away from the vehicle.
 
aNoodle

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It funny how litigious we've become in America. We're ready to head off to small claims court. LOL. Studying law is bad enough!!! SpeedPhreak is right though. (Australia is common law too, but i'm sure you've got your own ins and outs.) 'As is' means just that, but not with misrepresentations. You can't say it's a rebuilt engine, then turn around and write 'as is' on the receipt and pretend you never said anything. As far as your word against his, the price you paid speaks for itself. He's a shark. Hopefully a phone call can clear this one up.
 
finch

finch

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yeah.. im thinking that a few pranks should just about even things out..

if not a few more..

i really couldnt be bothered chasing this up.. ill just get a nother block or crank or engine..
thanks for the input tho guys.. [:)]
 
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bichmgnt

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aNoodle said:
It funny how litigious we've become in America. We're ready to head off to small claims court.
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I didn't say take him straight to court. I said call him then write a letter and only if the guy didn't provide any kind of refund take legal action. If I was really litigious I would have said hire a lawyer because some of those guys are real sharks. Sometimes people don't give you a choice.

finch said:
yeah.. im thinking that a few pranks should just about even things out..

if not a few more..

i really couldnt be bothered chasing this up..
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While egging the guy's house may give some fleeting satisfaction, vandalism could end with a court date as well.

I don't know about you but $450+ (including whatever you had to pay your mechanic) adds up to more than a few days pay for me - and I make a lot compared to some. Think about your hourly wage and how long it takes to make that much. You worked hard for that money the first time, sometimes you have to work just as hard to get it back.

Steve
 
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RACEMAN78

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#15
For what it's worth, a good automotive machine shop might be able to straighten and recondition that bent crank. From what I've heard from some other sources the bottem ends on those 4 bangers are darn near bullet proof.

Mike
 
finch

finch

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I don't know about you but $450+ (including whatever you had to pay your mechanic) adds up to more than a few days pay for me - and I make a lot compared to some. Think about your hourly wage and how long it takes to make that much. You worked hard for that money the first time, sometimes you have to work just as hard to get it back.
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when you put it like that.. i dont think that egging will suffice..
fire and spray paint may fix it right up though... jk

seriously.. thats like a week and a half worth of wages to me..
ok ill call him.. its been probably over month and half since i bought it but ill call him tonight...
 
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